To all youths in the West (2)

After the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei wrote a missive which was soon published in the media and social networks.

This was his second letter for the Western youths especially those in North America and Europe. Like his first letter he called on the Western youths to treat with the global issues with more precision and scrutiny and not to be hoodwinked by the Western media and false claims of politicians. Ayatollah Khamenei, in his letter expresses regret over the condition of the world and puts forward mechanisms for realization of sustainable peace writing, “For me, it is unfortunate that such incidents would have to create the framework for a conversation, however the truth is that if painful matters do not create the grounds for finding solutions and mutual consultation, then the damage caused will be multiplied.”The Leader has addressed the youths because they are more concerned about their future and the future the world and are sincerely intent to have a peaceful world due to being free of political or economic interests. Besides, these youths are the next politicians and thinkers of their countries. So if they think correctly they will be able to adopt peaceful approaches to guide their societies and the world toward a world free of terrorism and full of peace and amity. Clearly, it is a natural right for everyone to enjoy peace and live at peace. Respecting this right and other human rights is the common concern of every individual and the prerequisite for enhancement of the status of nations. Enforcement of people’s right for peace requires all policies of governments to move in the direction of omitting any threat against peace. The materialization of peace will make the ground for emergence of other manifestations of human rights; while materialization of these examples requires a calm environment free of tension, hostility and fear. Thus, peace and human rights are interconnected. Freedoms, equality and fraternity will be realized only when the world is devoid of tension, poverty, despotism, injustice and terror. Basically, the Western statesmen, in spite of what they claim on peace and human ideals, have practically annihilated justice and freedom through fanning the flames of war and supporting extremism. The West of Asia which the Westerners like to call Middle East is a very clear example of this claim. Ayatollah Khamenei invites the Western youths to ponder over the duplicitous policies of the West vis-à-vis materialization of the ideals pertaining to peace and human rights. He names some of the instances of the Western statesmen’s measures to obliterate human rights and peace in the world.The Western military expeditions to Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries for over a decade have resulted in destruction of the infrastructures of these countries and massacre and injury of millions of people. But the Western media have covered these crimes and human rights violations vice versa. Thus, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in part of his letter reiterated, “Dear youth! I have the hope that you- now or in the future- can change this mentality corrupted by duplicity, a mentality whose highest skill is hiding long-term goals and adorning malevolent objectives.”Today terrorism is a very big problem that severely threatens the global peace. Ayatollah Khamenei wrote to the Western youths that if today Paris has been targeted by terrorist attacks the people of Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan for years and the people of Palestine for decades have been witness to such conditions. Stressing that the insecurity and strain experienced by the West differs from that of the people of Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and elsewhere in two significant ways, he continued, “First, the Islamic world has been the victim of terror and brutality to a larger extent territorially, to greater amount quantitatively and for a longer period in terms of time. Second, that unfortunately this violence has been supported by certain great powers through various methods and effective means.” The global peace today has faced with state terrorism. Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in his second letter to the youths in North America and Europe, writes, “Today, there are very few people who are uninformed about the role of the United States of America in creating, nurturing and arming al-Qaeda, the Taliban and their inauspicious successors. Besides this direct support, the overt and well-known supporters of Takfiri terrorism- despite having the most backward political systems- are standing arrayed as allies of the west while the most pioneering, brightest and most dynamic democrats in the region are suppressed mercilessly. The prejudiced response of the west to the awakening movement in the Islamic world is an illustrative example of the contradictory western policies.”Another face of state terrorism is symbolized in the bestial acts of the Zionist regime of Israel. The Leader wrote in this regard, “If the people of Europe have now taken refuge in their homes for a few days and refrain from being present in busy places- it is decades that a Palestinian family is not secure even in its own home from the Zionist regime’s death and destruction machinery. What kind of atrocious violence today is comparable to that of the settlement constructions of the Zionists regime?This regime- without ever being seriously and significantly censured by its influential allies or even by the so-called independent international organizations- everyday demolishes the homes of Palestinians and destroys their orchards and farms. This is done without even giving them time to gather their belongings or agricultural products and usually it is done in front of the terrified and tear-filled eyes of women and children who witness the brutal beatings of their family members who in some cases are being dragged away to gruesome torture chambers. In today’s world, do we know of any other violence on this scale and scope and for such an extended period of time?Shooting down a woman in the middle of the street for the crime of protesting against a soldier who is armed to the teeth- if this is not terrorism, what is it? This barbarism, because it is being done by the armed forces of an occupying government, should not be called extremism? Or maybe only because these scenes have been seen repeatedly on television screens for sixty years, they should no longer stir our consciences.”Having a peaceful world needs serious fight against terrorism and materialization of human rights ideals and eradication of discrimination and inequality. Unfortunately, the Western powers have used what they call as “good terrorism” as a toll to push forward their foreign policy goals and vested interests. Ayatollah Khamenei makes it clear in his letter, “As long as double-standards dominate western policies, until terrorism- in the view of its powerful supporters- is divided into “good” and “bad” types, and until governmental interests are given precedence over human values and ethics, the roots of violence should not be searched for in other places.”RM/ME